Water-motor.



N6. 676,467, Patented lune la, moi.

w. L. MORGAN. 6

WATER MOTOR.

Y (Application led June 30, 1900.)

(No Model.)

llllllullu rl t l t YUivrrin STATES PATENT @Prion VILLIAM L. MORGAN, OlfBURLINGTON, IOVA.

WATER-MOTOR. f

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,467, dated June 1S,1901.

Application filed June 30, 190i).

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that LWILLIAM L. MORGAN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Burlington, in the county ofDes Moines and State of Iowa, have invented a new and usefulWater-Motor, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to improvements in current-motors; and the objectis to provide a simple and effective motor to be entirely submerged in astream for the purpose of utilizing the force of the current of thestream.

With the above object in view the invention consists i-n the novelfeatures of construction hereinafter fully described, particularlypointed out in the claims, and clearly illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved motor;Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3is avertical transverse sectional view taken through the rear pair ofchain-disks.

In practice it is designed that a number of the motors shall be used,the same being placed side by side.

The casing of my invention consists of -a bottom wall A and side wallsB, which latter have their front ends C pointed for the purpose cfdividing the current and directing theV same to the diiferent motorswhere more than one is used. Thus an open-ended casing is provided tocontain the motor, and this casing is entirely submerged in the stream,it being positioned at a sufficient depth beneath the surface of thestream to permit floating obstacles or ice to pass over the motorwithout coming in contact therewith and obstructing its operation andalso for the purpose of enabling the motor to operate even though thestream should be frozen over.

At the forward and rear ends of the casing the pairs of disks D arejournaled to the side walls by means of shafts D', said disks beingarranged directly opposite each other and having no connecting-shaft, sothat the space between them is entirely free from any obstruction. Thesedisks are provided about their periphery with cogs to engage in thelinks of the endless chains E, said chains connecting the disks oftheforward pair with Serial No. 22,153. (No model.)

those of the pair at the rearendl of the casing. A plurality of blades Fare pivotally connected at Vone end to said chains by thetransversely-extending rods G, while the opposite or free ends of theblades are connected with the chains by chains H, one end of the chainsbeing attached to the blades and the opposite ends to rods I, connectingchains E. The movement of each swinging blade in one direction islimited by its chain H, as will be readily understood. These blades Fareof substantially the same longitudinal extent as the diameter of thechain-disks and are 'of a Width to fill the space between the side wallsof the casing.

Projections .lare carried by the side walls of the casing in front ofthe rear pair of disks and adjacent thereto for the purpose presently tobe set forth. y

I have numbered the blades illustrated by the numerals 1 2 3 4. inaddition to the letter F.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The current entering thecasing at the forward end thereof, as indicated by arrow, strikes theblade 2F and moves the lower end of the same until said blade isvertical, the chain H preventing further movement of the blade, asbefore described. The force of the current against said blade causes thesame to move rearwardly, carrying with it Vthe endless chains. Vhen saidblade reaches the projections J, it will engage said projectionsadjacent to its free end, and said end will be retained by saidprojections, while the piv oted end of the blade will be carried aroundby the movement of chains, the free end of the blade swinging on saidprojections as a pivot until thev blade assumes the position illustratedby blade 3F. In this position the current will strike against the underside of the blade and swing the same on its pivot G until said bladelies fiat upon the bottom wall of the casing, as illustrated by blade4F. The blade will then be moved'forwardly until the disks at theforward end of the casing are reached, when said blade -will assume theposition illustrated by blade 1F and from this position to operativeposition, receiving the force of the current and continuing the movement of the chains. The projections J act as a reversing means for theblades at the rear Ioo end of the motor, as will be understood from theabove description. It is necessary to provide some mechanism for causingboth of the chains to move together; otherwise the blades would noteffectively operate. This construction lconsists of a shaft K, journaledtransversely of the casing and at a point 4above the rear pair ot disks,said shaft carrying the cog-wheels L, which mesh with gears M,carried bythe shafts of the rear disks. Thus the two disks at the rear of thecasing turn together,so that the chains move at the same rate of speedand the blades are prevented from becoming twisted in the casing. Motionmay be communicated by the disks to any machinery which it is desired todrive by any preferred arrangement of shafting and gearing, the same notbeing shown in the drawings.

Should more than one motor be used, the side wall of one casing will beused as a partywall, 'as will be understood.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by LettersPatent ot' the United States, is-

l. In a current-motor,the combination with a casing, of pairs of disksmounted at the respective ends of said casing, endless chains connectingthe disks of each pair, transversely-arranged blades pivotally connectedat one end to said chains, flexible connections between the free ends ofsaid blades and said chains, and reversing means for said blades,substantially as described.

2. A current-motor comprising a casing, pairs of disks mounted in saidcasing, endless chains connecting the disks of each pair,transversely-arranged blades pivotally connected at one end to saidchains, flexible connections between the free ends of said blades andchains, and projections arranged adjacent to one pair of disks andadapted to engage the free ends of the blades, for the purb pose ofreversing the blades, substantially as described.

VILLIAM L. MORGAN.

